I'm going away for a week and I wanted to use up the half pint of half-and-half in my fridge and the $4 box of raspberries that I bought in a moment of weakness at the farmers market. So I decided on a tart. I used the recipe in "The New Best Recipe," a mammoth book from the editors of Cooks Illustrated Magazine. The book isn't so much stuffed with recipes, as stuffed with lengthy explanations of what techniques work for particular recipes and why and what not to do and why and how to do it better, easier and more precisely... you get the idea. Also important to note: there is no gastroporn in this book; all the pictures are illustrations. I digress.
I started by making the pastry cream. I should have started with the crust, but I didn't. I also should have used a tart pan, rather than a cake plate. But after spending $150 on an ER visit for Lenny (bee sting) I decided not to spring for a tart pan.
The pastry cream was fairly easy. It called for 2 cups half-and-half and six tablespoons sugar. I used four. Combine the two in a heavy sauce pan over med. heat. Simmer and stir to dissolve sugar.
Meanwhile separate five eggs and whisk the yolks together with 2 tbs sugar. Whisk in 3 tbs cornstarch until smooth.
When the half-and-half mixture reaches a simmer whisk it into the bowl with the eggs to temper. Then pour the mixture back into the pan, using a rubber spatula to scrape. Whisk over medium heat until it thickens and a few bubbles burst at the top.
Whisk in 4 tbs cold unsalted butter cut into pieces. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it over the surface, so it doesn't form a film. Put in the fridge for atleast 2 hours before using.
Crust: If you've never made a pie crust before, consult a cookbook on this one. You'll need more instruction.
In a food processor combine 1 1/4 cups flour, 2/3 cup sugar and a pinch salt and 8 tbs butter cut into pieces. Pulse until it reaches a cornmeal like consistency. With the blade running pour in an egg yolk, 1 tbs heavy cream, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract whisked together. Form the dough into a disk and wrap in plastic. Put in fridge for an hour. Roll out between two sheets of plastic wrap and mold into a tart pan. Freeze for 30 minutes. Cover with in foil and pie weights and cook at 375 for 30 mins. Remove tin foil and bake for 5 more minutes. Cool it completely.
To assemble. Use a rubber spatula to evenly disperse the pastry cream into the shell. Use whatever fruit you want to decorate the tart. Make glaze by boiling a few tbs water and apricot, apple or any light colored jam. Glaze using a brush. Chill before serving. Viola.
If you want to read more about tarts: http://www.joyofbaking.com/tarts.html
